It will be important for me to feel secure about gasoline, water and battery life. I have talked about water here and here . Battery life I have mentioned here and here . I am confident in the solar battery charging. I am confident in the potable water solution. All that is left is gasoline.

The Toyota Tacoma holds 21 gallons. If the road is flat and paved, the range ’til empty is close to 400 miles. I will not feel comfortable parked with less than 10 gallons. In order to feel more than just comfortable I would like to carry at least 4-5 gallons extra. I do not want to carry that extra gas inside the truck. It has to go on the roof. A cheapo can is a wind drag on the roof. A Kolpin 89135 Fuel Pack, more aerodynamically formed, was the answer.

It is only 4 gallons, but it can be packed flat on any rack with (4) heavy 1″ wide Velcro attachments. It is 37 x 13.5 x 3.5 inches. 1 of these confidence boosters is on the “essentials” list. There is another on the luxury list (how sweet to have an extra 4 gallons). They do cost, though. Almost $80.00. So one is essential. The second one is luxury.

On top of the rack is the Kolpin . Empty it weighs 8.6 pounds. Gasoline weighs 6.25 pounds/gallon. That full package would weigh 33.6 pounds. This is beginning to sound like I need to investigate storage on the so far imaginary roof rack.